Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 34
The Lord Delivers the Righteous
Concerning David, when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech,[a](A) who drove him out, and he departed.
1 I[b] will praise the Lord at all times;
His praise will always be on my lips.(B)
2 I will boast in the Lord;(C)
the humble will hear and be glad.(D)
3 Proclaim Yahweh’s greatness with me;(E)
let us exalt His name together.(F)
4 I sought the Lord, and He answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.(G)
5 Those who look to Him are[c] radiant with joy;(H)
their faces will never be ashamed.(I)
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him from all his troubles.(J)
7 The Angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear Him, and rescues them.(K)
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.(L)
How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him!(M)
9 You who are His holy ones, fear Yahweh,
for those who fear Him lack nothing.(N)
10 Young lions[d] lack food and go hungry,(O)
but those who seek the Lord
will not lack any good thing.(P)
11 Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.(Q)
12 Who is the man who delights in life,
loving a long life to enjoy what is good?(R)
13 Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from deceitful speech.(S)
14 Turn away from evil and do what is good;(T)
seek peace and pursue it.(U)
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and His ears are open to their cry for help.(V)
16 The face of the Lord is set
against those who do what is evil,(W)
to erase[e] all memory of them from the earth.(X)
17 The righteous[f] cry out, and the Lord hears,
and delivers them from all their troubles.(Y)
18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
He saves those crushed in spirit.(Z)
19 Many adversities come to the one who is righteous,
but the Lord delivers him from them all.(AA)
20 He protects all his bones;
not one of them is broken.(AB)
21 Evil brings death to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.(AC)
22 The Lord redeems the life of His servants,
and all who take refuge in Him will not be punished.(AD)
5 The Lord, the God of Hosts—
He touches the earth;(A)
it melts, and all who dwell in it mourn;
all of it rises like the Nile
and subsides like the Nile of Egypt.(B)
6 He builds His upper chambers
in the heavens(C)
and lays the foundation of His vault
on the earth.(D)
He summons the waters of the sea
and pours them out on the face of the earth.(E)
Yahweh is His name.(F)
Announcement of Judgment
7 Israelites, are you not like the Cushites to Me?(G)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Didn’t I bring Israel from the land of Egypt,
the Philistines from Caphtor,[a](H)
and the Arameans from Kir?(I)
8 Look, the eyes of the Lord God
are on the sinful kingdom,(J)
and I will destroy it
from the face of the earth.(K)
However, I will not totally destroy
the house of Jacob(L)—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
9 for I am about to give the command,
and I will shake the house of Israel(M)
among all the nations,
as one shakes a sieve,
but not a pebble will fall to the ground.
10 All the sinners among My people(N)
who say: “Disaster will never overtake[b]
or confront us,”(O)
will die by the sword.
Announcement of Restoration
11 In that day
I will restore the fallen booth(P) of David:(Q)
I will repair its gaps,
restore its ruins,(R)
and rebuild it as in the days of old,(S)
12 so that they may possess
the remnant of Edom(T)
and all the nations
that are called by My name[c](U)—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
He will do this.
13 Hear this! The days are coming—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
when the plowman will overtake the reaper(V)
and the one who treads grapes,
the sower of seed.
The mountains will drip with sweet wine,
and all the hills will flow with it.(W)
14 I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel.[d](X)
They will rebuild and occupy ruined cities,(Y)
plant vineyards and drink their wine,
make gardens and eat their produce.(Z)
15 I will plant them on their land,
and they will never again be uprooted
from the land I have given them.(AA)
Yahweh your God has spoken.
13 Brothers, I do not[a] consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind(A) and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly[b] call in Christ Jesus.(B) 15 Therefore, all who are mature should think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal(C) this also to you. 16 In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained. 17 Join in imitating me, brothers, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. 18 For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross(D) of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory(E) is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things, 20 but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious(F) body,(G) by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself.
Practical Counsel
4 So then, my brothers, you are dearly loved and longed for—my joy and crown.(H) In this manner stand firm(I) in the Lord, dear friends.
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